Since I started my blog, I've been calling my kids "our daughter" and "our son". While I don't want to use their real names on the blog, I wanted them to have online names to help make the descriptions of them less impersonal. They have also expressed interest in being able to post here from time to time to share stories or ideas or thoughts. So this morning we sat down together and they each got to choose a name to use online.

Julian

Julian is my oldest and turned five years old this year. He is the one who taught me how to be a parent and I learned all about attachment parenting by being his mom and trying to find the best way to relate to him and meet his needs. He had a very strong tongue tie at birth and we had a really rough start with breastfeeding. He is a very spirited and bright kid and does everything with a passion. He loves to learn and loves to play. His favourite food is french toast (at the moment!). He is getting a new room in a few weeks and chose bright orange paint for the walls. Julian is going to be the Cat in the Hat for Halloween.

Emma

Emma is my baby and she is two years old. There was much less experimenting in my parenting with her. I was prepared for and had a natural birth. She was breastfeeding a few minutes after being born and was in a sling within an hour of being born. She spent most of her first six months firmly attached to my body either in a sling, on the breast, or sleeping with me in bed. She loves to dance and read stories and likes to talk, talk, talk. She says her favourite food is french fries, but unlike Julian she loves just about any fruit or vegetable you can imagine. She chose purple walls and big flowers for her room. Emma is dressing up as a Lady Bug for Halloween.

Please join me in welcoming them formally to the blog. Julian already has a few posts in progress...

How lovely that you shared their personalities with us and what beautiful photos. I have a very spirited (read: persistent, sensitive, perceptive, energetic, inflexible) son, age 8, who also gave me my parenting chops (and I am still being broken in by him) and my daughter is age 6 (talkative, energetic, fun)! Love that you are introducing your kids to all your followers.

This is a great idea. If you hadn't told us those weren't their real names we'd never know! I personally don't like it when people refer to their children as Thing 1 & Thing 2, Princess Pooper, or whatever. Thank you for giving your kids names!

I wanted to comment on your attachment parenting and co-sleeping. We chose that route also. The only difference is, here in America, it's like people almost "look down" on us for co-sleeping. Our pediatrician scolded us pretty good at our first in-office visit with him. He told us he's been to several funerals where babies died while co-sleeping, so he's totally against true co-sleeping. We've had friends, family and even co-workers tell us we had "better put a stop to it now before it's too late", like we want to stop it any time soon. My dad's parents can relate, though. My dad slept with his mom until he was a teen-ager. My aunt also slept with them until she "had" to go to her own bed, after she was several years old.

Funny how different cultures view parenting styles differently. Some countries would look down on you for not co-sleeping or attachment parenting your children. Here it's almost discouraged. The parents who do it openly are almost regarded as "hippies" who certainly breastfeed and cloth-diaper and make their own baby food, also. (True that a lot of them do those things, including me for the most part, but boo for the "hippy" stereotype.)